ntwfrpsfandomcom-20200214-history
Incantational Magic
The most common type of magic in Kyth, and possibly Avani as a whole, this magic works by channeling one's magic through a wand and the use of a rune-language, which are then triggered by the use of a spoken incantation. It is considered by many Kythians to be a gift from Lord Woo, and many of the incantations in fact have 'Woo' in the name. Incantational magic exists in other countries as well, such as Courdon, Meltaim, Valzaim, and Macarinth, each with their own tweaks to spellcasting, runes, and incantations. Incantational magic is genetic and often runs in families, but since multiple genes are required for magical ability, it's also possible for mages to be born to non-mage parents, and for two mages to have a non-magical child. Magical strength is also somewhat inheritable, but it can vary quite drastically between family members as well. Some families seem to have magical children more easily than others, though why this may be is unclear. Whether or not a child has incantational magic is very easy to tell; roughly between the ages of four and six, a child may create a small, hovering light or change the color of objects with their hands. This skill remains with the mage throughout their life and is the only controlled magic that an incantational mage may cast without a wand. Spellcasting To cast a spell, an incantational mage mentally recites a chain of memorized runes, points their wand in the direction they wish to send the spell, and sends a burst of will and magical power into their wand while reciting the incantation associated with the runes. Spells can vary a great deal in appearance, both at the wandtip and when being cast, though there is a general theme of glowing light. The area in which an incantational mage learns how to cast spells affects the color of this light, as follows: *Kyth - Green *Courdonian - Red *Macarinth - Blue *Meltaim - Wands Made of a handful of very particular woods, cores, and crystals, and to a slightly wider variety of lengths and flexibility, each wand is unique even if only in the slight, minute differences in the material itself, and is ideally supposed to perfectly match the mage who owns it. Most of the finest wands come from expert wandcrafters whose business is established in Corvus. Crystals Crystals are unique feature of wands in that they aren't necessarily essential to the wands construction. The function of a wand crystal is to focus the magical power channeled through it, making the spell stronger, but not all mages can use a crystal; some pour their power into their wand in such a way that the gem explodes, and others can't easily push their power past the crystal, resulting in a momentary delay in spellcasting. Other mages get a helpful boost in power from these crystals, or a point to focus their energy. Still other mages are capable of using a crystal with no trouble, but receive no meaningful advantage from using one, either. Wand Wood Woods include (but are not limited to) oak, ash, holly, elm, willow, blackthorn, cherry, hazel, laurel, cypress, and etc. Not every tree of a given type can produce wand quality wood- trees should generally be a certain age before harvesting for wand wood, and heartwood works the best for these purposes. It is held among some more old-fashioned wand makers that a wand will be more "cooperative" if it is made from wood given "willingly" by the tree- ergo, branches that fall during a storm or can be snapped off without the use of tools like axes or shears. Evidence to actually support this supposition is low, but the myth persists regardless. Wand Cores Wand cores are always material taken from a living creature (fur, feathers, claw or horn shavings, etc). In an ideal wand, the core is taken from an animal that the mage resonates with, either because of a strong affinity or because the mage's nature closely matches that of the animal. Possible wand cores include (but are not limited to) phoenix, raptor, and songbird feathers, claw shavings or powdered fangs from mammalian predators, powdered scales of certain reptiles, and hair or fur from large herbivorous mammals. Materials taken from insects and amphibians generally make poor wand cores, though some have been known to conduct successful experiments with the webbing of the golden silk orb spider. Wands in Canon The Pull No mage can use magic without draining some physical energy - in incantational mages (and some non-incantational mages as well) intensive or overuse of magic results in the pull. The condition is named for the predominant sensation experienced by pulled mages - an uncomfortable sense of tugging, usually compared to an over-stretching muscle. The pull is also accompanied by aching, pain, and exhaustion at higher levels of overuse. Severe overuse of magic will cause a mage to pass out. The pull is progressive in where and how strongly it manifests. The sensation begins in the fingers and can sometimes be shaken or stretched away, but as more magic is used without ample rest, will gradually travel up the arms, where the aching grows more intense and eventually using spells becomes painful, until it finally reaches the chest. This is where the pull is at its worst; mages describe a common sensation of feeling as if their ribcage is being pulled open from the inside, leaving a strong if irrational conviction that their chest is about to rip open. Putting pressure on the chest helps somewhat, and mages at this stage of the pull instinctively wrap their arms around their chests to help “keep themselves together”. In these later stages of the pull, spell-casting can become extremely painful, and when completely pulled, can hurt for a few days after as well. Over time, as a mage’s magic recharges, the pull will fade away again, more quickly for smaller amounts of pull than larger. Sugar is able to help relieve the pull, though more so in aiding speed of magic-recovery than the pain and ache of the pull itself. While most of the time a mage will pass out before their power is completely pulled, thus stopping their spellcasting, in some cases they can be in mortal danger from the pull if their power continues to be drawn into a spell or if the mage is able to keep themselves from fainting. Curses Warmages A specific class of incantational mages, warmages, as the name implies, are mages who have dedicated themselves to the study and practice of advanced combat magic. While most mages will learn common self-defensive spells such as stunners, warmages are specifically trained to maximize damage while minimizing energy spent, to take out numerous foes on the battlefield. They will learn entirely different rune chains for the same spell a normal mage knows in order to make the spell cost significantly less energy to cast. Warmages are often trained in team spells, which utilize several mages to great effect in one decisive strike. They also learn spells that are considered dangerous to know at all, let alone cast, because of inherent instability in them that lends to their destructive power in a fight. Consequent to their monumental potential for causing mayhem and destruction, warmages trained in a formal institution or directly by the country's military are given every bit as much discipline as any normal solider. Nobles are no exception to this rule, as it is viewed as irresponsible to give such tremendous power to someone without the self-restraint to use it properly. Archmages See full article for archmages Spells Spells that have been used or mentioned in Medieval and/or side fics and roleplays include: Constructs Constructs, though technically a general term for anything tangible made entirely out of magic, such as shields and wards, usually refers specifically to the product of a complex but versatile bit of spellwork that creates magic in the form of semi-translucent animals. These constructs are bound to their caster’s will, and as they continually require magical energy to maintain their form and this connection, they continually drain the mage as well. Of their own accord, constructs will act much like the animals they resemble, but can also be given orders - either mental command alone, or verbal, to act in certain ways, such as guarding, chasing, or observing. The interpretation of these commands is carried out similarly to how a real animal of that type would, and in fact animals who would perform one skill better than another are similarly more competent at that task as constructs - an animal with dextrous hands or talons would be better at retrieving an object than an animal with paws and a muzzle, for instance. Alternatively, a mage can directly control the animals, though this is much more draining and can be dangerous in certain situations, as the mage sees through the animal’s eyes while controlling it. Their eyes go out of focus while doing this and remain so for several seconds after removing themselves from the construct. Mages sometimes use brief spurts of this ability just to see through the construct’s eyes, though this ability is limited to close-range unless the mage is exceedingly powerful, and even a strong mage will feel an enormous drain from the effort. In appearance, constructs are semi-translucent and take the color of their caster’s magic. Their features are generally much more softened than a real version of the animal’s, rather like a clay figure lacking fine detail. The mage casting the spell can control the size of the animal if they choose, though making it bigger or smaller takes more energy (the greater the size difference, the larger the energy required to change it). The mage can also control whether the animal is tangible or incorporeal - incorporeal constructs require less energy to cast and maintain, but can’t interact with other objects directly. Non-Kythian Spells Spells specific to non-Kythian incantational mages are listed here, along with the color of the region's magic. Macarinthian pairbond spells can be found here. Runes Kythian Kythian runes mentioned in canon include: Potions Potion-making - as incantational mages are familiar with it - is a largely separate skill from spellcraft, aside from the need to apply one’s magic to the brew or cauldron, and the occasional enchanted ingredient. Much like alchemy or cooking, potion-brewing generally is considered to be following a recipe that combines ingredients in a particular process. Unlike baking and much more like alchemy, amounts and procedures must be very precise. Potions can be used for many things, but arguable their most valuable use is their ability to fight disease, which can be difficult to impossible with incantations alone. Potions can treat ailments as simple as a stomach or headache to ones as dangerous as infected wounds and malaria. Much like spells, potions generally work more quickly than nonmagical remedies. Most potions are consumed directly (generally in small doses rather than simply drinking from the bottle), but some can be mixed into food and drink, often done to mask the taste (for purposes either benign or deceptive), and others are simply applied to the area where their effect is desired, such as in infected wounds. Some potions are also used as weapons, or rather, they are used in creating weapons. Most weaponized potions are actually two volatile compounds in the same bottle, kept apart by magic and/or clever glasswork. When thrown, the bottle breaks and the two compounds combine, creating some devastating effect such as flames, burns, thick ice, or small explosions. Fireknights and warmages in particular tend to use these sorts of potions. Allergies and reactions with other medicines, both magical and non-magical, should be carefully considered before using a potion. Fortunately, many potions can be made from different ingredients but with roughly the same effect, though some may be more or less effective than others. Potions used or mentioned in canon include: Potion Ingredients Ingredients used or mentioned in canon include: *Dagger-root *Wormwood Category:Magic Category:Medieval